​​​​​​​The Lives it Has Changed in Sub-Saharan Africa

When Scovia Nassaazi was 12 years old, her family agreed to participate in a pilot research program led by a U.S. scholar to open savings accounts for children in the small Ugandan towns where they lived.  The account was used to help pay her school fees and encourage savings by her mother, who contributed to the account when she could. Twenty years later, Nassaazi works as a study coordinator for the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD), based at the Brown School and led by that same scholar, Fred Ssewamala, the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor. This fall, she will enroll as an MSW student at the Brown School.

“I can say the pilot project began a new chapter in both my life and my family’s life as well,” said Nassaazi, who also heads qualitative interviews and translation for the center.

The success of the pilot also opened a new chapter for ICHAD, which has expanded to secure millions of dollars of grants for its more than 10 research projects and now employs over 60 staff in the U.S., Uganda, and other parts of Africa. This week, Nassaazi traveled to St. Louis as ICHAD celebrates its 10th year of research and training in Uganda and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Over the week of April 10 and the next months, the celebration will bring together scientists, staff, collaborators, partners, students, trainees, and other participants around the globe.